Churros Cupcakes
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The first time I had churros was from a cart in Disneyland, Anaheim. We were staying back late for the fireworks and fancied a snack. I just remember this long warm stick, with a slight crisp, and sprinkled with sugar.
And the rest is history.
Since then I have become addicted to churros. If I see them on a menu, I’ll have to have them. In case you aren't sure what churros actually are, or haven't had the pleasure in trying them yourself, they're a fried doughnut stick, usually rolled in cinnamon sugar. Even though they're available all year round, they're my favourite part of London's Winter Wonderland, which has, therefore, become a winter tradition for me. As well as the cinnamon, I always get them drizzled with melted chocolate! This is what has inspired today's festive recipe. Cinnamon cupcakes with a light chocolate frosting, decorated with churros, gold edible glitter and cinnamon sugar.
This is my third year making Christmas inspired cupcakes. My first creation were the reindeer cupcakes filled with a chocolate orange ganache, which can only be described as death by a chocolate reindeer! Last year I made my first vegan cupcakes, which were decorated high with a Christmas tree frosting, and filled with my homemade sprinkles. This year I have gone super simple, but these are definitely my favourite out of the three. I'm not giving up on creative food and drink (wait until you see Friday's post), but this time, it's all in the taste.
The cupcake is a very simple sponge, with added cinnamon for the churros inspiration. If you're short on time, you can buy a simple boxed recipe, and add cinnamon, and the same goes if you have a favourite cupcake recipe. This, like all my other blogmas recipes, are completely vegan, and you would never guess that these cupcakes contain no eggs or milk. It's a super soft and moist sponge, and it's really light and fluffy. Try and not overcook the cupcakes more than necessary. When taken out the oven, they should feel springy to touch, and once a knife comes out clean, they're done. You can follow a recipe perfectly, but sometimes overcooking it, even just by a minute, can ruin it.
When trying to decide what frosting to have on top of my cupcakes, I wanted something that was different to cinnamon but complimented it well. It didn't take too long for me to think about what I usually dip my churros into, and that is melted chocolate. To be honest, anything with melted chocolate tastes like a dream, but it's extra special with churros. The frosting has a very similar texture to a mousse, it's light and so creamy, and not at all too sweet, which you can find with some frostings. The spicy cinnamon and sweet chocolate taste so well together.
You can't have churros inspired cupcake without including churros for decoration. I bought the churros because I don't think I have the ability to make these just yet, but maybe I can challenge myself a little next year. On top of all of that goodness, I have sprinkled on cinnamon sugar, along with gold edible glitter, because you can never have too much glitter around Christmas. These will look super festive and extremely tasty for any Christmas party, or gifted as a delicious treat. I am so in love with these cupcakes, and I have always been a huge fan of anything that included cinnamon, and along with the chocolate frosting, this is the perfect interpretation of a churros cupcake.
CHURROS CUPCAKES
This recipe makes 12 tasty cupcakes.- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup flavourless oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extracts ICING
- 1/4 cup dairy-free butter
- 3/4 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 100g dairy-free milk chocolate
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups icing sugar
- 3-5 tsp dairy-free milk
- Churros
- Glitter and cinnamon sugar (optional)
INGREDIENTS
CUPCAKES- Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C / 160 degrees C (fan) / 350F / gas mark 4. Line the cupcake tin with cupcake cases.
- In a small bowl, mix together the dairy-free milk and cider vinegar. Leave for 10 minutes to curdle.
- In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, flour, caster sugar, salt, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and ground cinnamon. Mix together with a spoon.
- Into the dry ingredients, add the dairy-free milk and cider vinegar mix, flavourless oil, and vanilla extract. This has to be done quickly before the raising agents start working.
- Evenly pour them into the cupcake cases, and into the pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes. They should leave a knife clean when tested, but also feel springy to touch. Leave them to cool on a cooling rack.
- To prepare the frosting, leave the butter and vegetable shortenings at room temperature for 15 minutes. Melt the chocolate, and leave to cool.
- In a large bowl, beat together using a hand or standing whisk, the vegetable shorting and butter until it's light and creamy. Add in the vanilla extract, and gradually pour in the icing sugar, one cup at a time.
- Once all the icing sugar is fully combined, add the cocoa powder. If it starts to get dry, add a little dairy-free milk, one tsp at a time.
- Pour in the cooled melted chocolate and continue to beat together. Again, if it starts to get dry, add a little dairy-free milk.
- Scoop your frosting into a piping bag, and using a large nozzle, pipe on to your cupcakes. Decorate with churros, glitter and cinnamon sugar.
INSTRUCTIONS
Even after Christmas, these are going to go at the top of my 'bake again' list. Let me know in the comments below if you're a fan of churros, and if you make these cupcakes, or any of my festive bakes, please tag me in your photos, I'd love to see. We are just over halfway through blogmas, but there are still 12 more doors left to open on my advent calendar.
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